Role of a Municipal Council

All this week during "Local Government Awareness Week 2023" - I will reviewing the 3 primary types of local government in BC (Municipal Council, Regional District Board of Directors' & Improvement District Board of Trustees) during 2023 Local Government Awareness Week.... starting with Municipal Councils' today...

Municipal Councils' are the governing body of an incorporated community.  This can range in population from 217 (District of Wells) up to 675,218 (City of Vancouver).  Incorporated communities can take various forms from small Villages, Districts', mid sized Towns/Cities right up to big Cities like Vancouver/Surrey.  According to CivicInfo BC -- there are 162 municipalities in British Columbia today.  It should be noted that a local government is not a true "order of government" as recognized in the Canadian Constitution but the "child of the Province or Territory" and thus a Municipal Council's powers are ones delegated by the Province or Territory to a municipality

Primary provincial legislation for Municipal Councils' is the Community Charter.  Legislation for the Charter was passed in the BC Legislature back in 2004.  Before then, Regional Districts/Municipal Councils' shared both the former Municipal Act and current Local Government Act before the Charter was passed in 2004. However, there are certain aspect of the Local Government Act that apply to both a Municipal Council and Regional District Board, depending on the topic.  Aspects of Land Use Decision Making and Local Elections/By-Elections and Referenda -- apply to both a Municipal Council/RD Board via the Local Government Act.  Municipal Councils', through the Charter, have what is called "natural person powers" which allows them to respond much more quickly to the general needs of an incorporated community

The primary role of a Municipal Council is outlined here but generally speaking - a Municipal Council looks out for the needs of its' community and advocates for the same to the provincial/federal governments & others or provides for local services desirable for that incorporated community

Distinct roles on a Municipal Council:

a) Mayor -- CEO/Head of Municipality. Role defined at Section 116 of the Charter.  View here

b) Councillor -- Member of a Municipal Council.  Number of Councillors can range from 4 to as many as 10, depending on size of a Municipal Council.  Role definition can be viewed here

c) Chief Administrative Officer (also known sometimes as City Manager or Administrator) -- Always granted, through an Officer's Bylaw, the primary responsibility to administer the operations of a Municipality, based on passed Council policies or Resolutions of a Council and serves as its' Chief Policy Advisor..  In the typical Council-CAO system of local government, Local Government Staff work for the CAO directly and the CAO works for Council as a whole as its' "sole employee"

Also, a Municipality is required by the Charter to have a Corporate Administrator and Financial Administrator (typically known as the Corporate Officer and Chief Financial Officer).  These statutory positions also apply to Regional Districts'.  More on this here

Some of the common challenges facing a Municipal Council in BC include:

a) Sustainable Infrastructure (sidewalks, water/sewer, etc)
b) Sustainable Staffing
c) Sustainable Finances
d) Healthy Local Economy/Jobs

Many BC Municipal Councils' lobby for the above noted items via their local Area Association (NCLGA, SILGA, AKBLG, LMLGA or AVICC); UBCM/Union of BC Municipalities and FCM/Federation of Canadian Municipalities.  Almost every local municipal council in BC is a member of an Area Association, UBCM or FCM...

In addition to that - Municipal Councils, via the Mayor, maintain healthy/productive relationships with their local MLA or Member of Legislative Assembly & MP or Member of Parliament to lobby for issues that are either provincial or federal in nature...

Also - Members of a Municipal Council (Mayor/Councillors') participate in annual training sessions at their local Area Associations, UBCM, FCM or LGLA/Local Government Leadership Academy to stay up to date on trends in local governments.  Links to Training Materials:

a) UBCM -- https://www.ubcm.ca/EN/main/convention/past-conventions.html
b) FCM -- https://fcm.ca/en/resources
c) LGLA -- https://lgla.ca/resources/

This is not any different from professional development that local government staff undertake on an annual basis to stay current in their profession via courses/seminars offered through the Local Government Management Association or their professional associations' ... 

More on things that face a Municipal Council on a yearly basis can be viewed at:

1) UBCM Fact Sheets - click here (Updated in Fall 2018)
2) Local Government in BC - click here.  Written by Robert Fish & Eric Clemens with the last update in 2008.  Mr. Clemens sadly passed away in 2008

3) Community Charter -- click here

Finally - it is said that local government is the closest to the people and the easiest to access (Mayor/Councillors) as they are members of the general community as well... and while they don't have the easiest job to make decisions that is bound to upset somebody -- it is fair to say that they try their level best, based on the information they have at hand and how they personally feel on an issue and vote accordingly.

And at the end of the day -- Mayors' and Councillors' have to face the electorate every 4 years in a "job performance review", if they seek re-election, to see if they are worthy to continue on... and the electorate is always correct when they vote in general local elections' (even if the elected officials don't agree personally with the decision at election time) and I'm sure people generally thank the 162 Municipal Councils' in BC and the job they do year round, even if people may disagree respectfully with their decisions, from time to time...

Tomorrow: I will review Regional Districts' and the role (sometimes misunderstood) they play in the unincorporated communities they represent, outside of Municipalities and their Municipal Councils'...

SF